Australian property workers often talk about a "2% vacancy rate" to prove that there is no real estate glut in Australia. But the 2% figure is already a pre-2015 record.
According to a new "rent burden index" released on Thursday, Sydney`s affordability of rent has increased over the past year, in a different light: lower rents, higher vacancy rates and a difficult life for landlords.
On the north shore, in parts of northwest and westernmost Sydney, median weekly rents for independent homes were down by an average of more than 100 yuan, according to other CoreLogic data.
These include the North Bank of Gorden,North Turramurra,Chatswood West and Neutral Bay..
Weekly rental prices in hot-spot areas such as Liverpool, Kellyville, Oran Park, Parramatta and Penrith have also fallen.
Kellyville has the highest vacancy rate, with 9.2% currently vacant.
In nearby Epping, where developers have already launched a large number of flat projects and 6.6 percent of rental homes are still vacant, the (Northwest rail line), the Sydney subway`s (Sydney Metro) northwest rail line, is about to open next year.
The Gordon, vacancy rate on the north shore also reached 7.7%.
Vacancy rates are rising while rents continue to fall, with anxious landlords offering incentives to attract tenants.
Earlier this week, in a two-bedroom penthouse at, Castle Hill in Old Northern Rd, landlords offered "rent-free" concessions in the first four weeks.
In a building at Park Rd 89 in Homebush, multiple homes offer a two-week rent-free period; similar offers have been made in nearby Sydney Olympic Park and Rhodes.
Apartments in a number of buildings, including Mascot,Rosebery,Zetland and Hillsdale, also offer a two-week rent-free period in Sydney`s southern district.
One realtor in charge of the housing marketing said the moves were a decision made by the landlord under "desperate circumstances."
"We just can`t find a tenant." He said。
Eastern Suburbs`s Di Jones agent, Adele? Hammer (Adele Hamer) says the improvement in rental opportunities in these areas is almost entirely due to an increase in housing supplies.
With more housing options, she says, professionals, young couples and families have better rental security opportunities.
CoreLogic`s research director, Tim? Loris (Tim Lawless) said tenants are in a good position to ask for better tenancy terms.
"rents are falling and the supply of housing is still on the rise."
The biannual index compiled by National Shelter and SGS Economics shows that Sydney is no longer Australia`s most affordable rental market, but has slipped to second place after Hobart.
